Busch Gardens Newbies

We finally made it over to Busch Gardens Tampa.

Before going, we had determined to NOT see and do everything in one day.

But we definitely wanted to:
ride the Rhino Rally,
ride the Serengeti Express,
ride the Skyride

Did all of those, liked them all.
The train's wheels did at times make an awful noise as we rolled along. Very distracting.

The Good:
The park was easy to find, even for 1st-timers.
BG's employees were friendly and helpful.

The Better:
Not crowded!

The Best:
The Park's cleanliness was most impressive.

The So-So:
Lunch: We had sandwiches (His: Italian Sausage, Mine: Corned Beef) at the Desert Grill.  The food was so-so, typical theme park fare, not as good as some of the WDW counter-service places. The servers were friendly.

It was hot and humid and the lush foliage added to it (like at DAK), so the animals were lethargic (just like us after lunch!).

Will we go back?
You betcha!
We missed all of Jungala, and will do that next time.

WWWD?

The Disney Company just spent about $4 Billion to acquire 5,000 Marvel characters.

Some of them (Spider-Man, The Hulk, Dr. Doom) can already be seen as rides / attractions up the road at Marvel Super Hero Island, Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando.
I have two problems with this.

#1 That $4 billion could have been spent upgrading ALL of WDW's parks, building a new moderate resort and upgrading the others, re-opening River Country and Discovery Island (both of which are just moldering away), creating a new land at DAK (how about Australia!), adding a new country to Epcot's World Showcase, keeping the parks cleaner, or how about this: extending the monorail to run all over WDW and get rid of the buses.


#2 Marvel characters are NOT Disney characters. I admit to being somewhat of a 'traditionalist'; I just can't see Captain America (for example) and Mickey together.

So, What Would Walt Do?
Well, I'm pretty sure he'd be spinning at about Warp 6.

Food & Wine in '09

I'm laughing because as I was typing the title, I kept hitting $ instead of & ... and as anyone who has been to Epcot's Food and Wine Festival knows, $ might be more appropriate!

Anyhooo ...

The 2009 Food and Wine ( September 25th - November 8th) Food Kiosk list has been released ... see it HERE

There have been a few changes:

No Durban Spiced Chicken skewers at the South Africa kiosk;
(guess I'll have to go to Boma's )

No Frozen Bailey's at Ireland's booth.
(there's an $8 saving)

OH. Waitaminnit.

South Africa is offering something new:
South seared beef tenderloin with sweet potato puree and mango barbecue sauce.

And there are new kiosks from Thailand and Rio de Janerio.

So much for saving any $$.

Update: WWoHP

Thanks to Ricky at Orlando Attractions Magazine:

Possible Names for WWoHP Rides, Restaurants & More:

A search on the website for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals that back in May, Warner Bros. filed for several trademarks that are likely related to the new “theme park within a theme park”.

Some of the trademarked names are familiar: Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer, Ollivanders, Honeydukes, and Zonko’s.

Beyond those, six more trademarks may point to other areas of the Wizarding World and could even be the names of the attractions within it:

- Most notably, the name “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” is filed under “Entertainment services in the nature of an amusement park ride.” It may be safe to assume that this will be the name of the large new ride that is being constructed in the back of the park.

- Likewise, listed under the same category are “Flight of the Hippogriff” and “Dragon Challenge,” which are likely going to be the new names for the existing Flying Unicorn and Dueling Dragons rides.

- Four other trademark names are also listed:

“Owl Post” and “Dervish and Banges” are categorized as retail stores.

“Hogsmeade Village” is listed as “Entertainment services in the nature of an amusement park attraction, namely, a themed area.”

“Magic Neep” is categorized under “Restaurant services, namely, providing of food and beverages for consumption.”

- Finally, on the same day that all of these were filed, a mark intended for use on clothing was filed featuring an Harry Potter “HP” logo along with a “stylized wing ball” better known to Potter fans as a Golden Snitch. While “Golden Snitch” has had many trademarks filed for in the past few years, this is one appears to be related to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter simply because its filing date is the same as the rest of the words. Perhaps we’ll see this graphic appearing on apparel inside the theme park.

It must be noted that while all of these words have been filed as trademarks, it doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily going to be used inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There is no reason why further marks could not be filed for in the future. But it is certainly possible that next year we will have a chance to ride something called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

(Credit to Orlando United for first posting the word list)

Image: Universal Studios Orlando

Di$ney

The Hubby and I were on the way back to the parking lot after finishing our Sunday morning walk around Boardwalk.

There was an ambulance, with lights flashing, pulled up to the front of the Boardwalk Inn.

Hubby remarked, "Somebody just got their bill."

(Hint: Never, ever, add charging privileges to your room key! You just might get a real surprise at check-out if you don't keep track of all your charges.)

What the Tink?

Remember that major refurbishment of Fantasyland I wrote about?

Well.
It just might be majorly more than merely major.
Theme Park Rangers has the blue prints ... and a few questions!

+ What does this mean to Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toon Town?

(Oh no! They had better NOT get bulldozed like Residential Street over at the Studios was!)

+ Why are two areas designated "DUMBO"?

(Dueling Dumbos?)

+ Like much of Disney in the 21st century, it's princess-heavy: a Cinderella attraction, an Aurora attraction and big Little Mermaid attraction.

(And all the Disney Princess merchandise to go with them.)

+ The area marked as "Castle Wall"?

(What the Tink?)

+ Reason to believe: something HAS to be in the works somewhere, right?

(Right! Disney will definitely do SOMETHING to counter Harry Potter over at Universal's Islands of Adventure).

YeHaa Bob!

Yehaa Bob is one of WDW's hidden treasures.

If you've ever been over at Port Orleans-Riverside on a Wednesday-Saturday night and walked past the River Roost Lounge, you've seen and heard Bob Jackson in action.

If you've stopped to watch and listen, you already know what I'm talkin' about.

And I hesitate to educate any one who doesn't because Bob's shows are already pretty crowded.

Here's Bob's website

Something New at WDW Water Parks

If you have an extra $250 in your pocket:

Beachcomber Shacks at Typhoon Lagoon

Polar Patios at Blizzard Beach

Renters receive all-day drink mugs, bottled water, lounge furniture, tables, towels, private lockers and the services of an attendant. The 4 Beachcomber Shacks / 4 Polar Patios are currently offered on a first come, first served basis, and accommodate up to 6 guests at a cost of $250 plus tax for a day.

Photo: Bsikor

H/T: WDW Magic

Up, Up, & Away!

There's a new sight on the WDW horizon:

The big yellow (and red) "Characters in Flight" balloon.

It is located at DTD-West Side, at the bridge-to Pleasure Island end;

The altitude varies depending on weather;

The # of Passengers (up to 30) depends on weather;

Fare: $16 adults, $10 children (ages 3-9)

Did it. Loved it. Want to do it again at night!

(Photo by Kiyomi Photography )

Reading Trip reports

I enjoy reading the Disney newsgroups. Sometimes I learn something, sometimes I get a new perspective, sometimes I get a headache.

Recently, a Disney DVC member (as she kept reminding the readers) posted a very detailed 5-part trip report about her 5-day visit.

She complained about:

the resort,
the food,
the Cast Members,
the other guests,
the Disney bus transportation,
the parks,
the weather,
the local television news bumping scheduled shows to report on the severe flooding in the area,

ad nauseum.

And - wait for it - at the end of the last report, she can't wait to come back!

BTW: on her 1st day, she notes that in a phone call from her office, she approved the laying off of staff in her business ...

I wonder if those folks are enjoying her trip reports?